Study: Imagine Clearwater plan will eliminate about 700 parking spots

CLEARWATER, Fla. (FOX 13) - As the city of Clearwater prepares to redesign downtown and the waterfront, officials have run into a problem.

A plan designed to bring more people to the city will eliminate hundreds of parking spaces.

Mayor George Cretekos says Clearwater hired a firm to conduct a study and it found the city stands to lose almost 700 parking spaces in its Imagine Clearwater plan, which is centered on a re-design of Coachman Park.

Dale Robinson runs a pizza shop on Cleveland Street and is worried this could mean fewer customers, but the mayor says his team is working on a solution.

“My problem is: Say they have a concert venue that attracts more people, but then my customers don’t have a place to park [and] I lose business,” Robinson pointed out.